Saturday, August 11, 2007

Directions

This is my last night in NYC for a year. Although I'm (mostly) sure I'll have a positive time in Germany, right now I'm rather overwhelmed with preparations to leave: packing, leaving my three jobs in the same week, and saying good bye to friends-- several of whom I'm not sure when (or if) I'll see again.

I'm not actually going to Germany until the 30th, but I have to move out of my apartment by Sunday, so I'm going to be staying in NJ with some friends until then. It's lovely of them to host me-- but I will be living with other people so I'm not sure how often I'll be cooking or updating the blog.

I've also been thinking of the direction this blog is going to take when I'm in Germany. Obviously I'll still be blogging primarily about food, but I'm sure that I'll want to write about life in Germany. I'd like to change the name (but not the link) of my blog to something more suitable, but I'm not sure if that would be too confusing. I know I've already done this once before-- why can't I ever make up my mind? But I don't want to start another blog, as I'm pretty attached to this one.

I hope this post wasn't overly self-indulgent. I'll blog about food next time, promise!

The Last Supper (in NYC, that is): a pizza topped with things I didn't want to go to waste, most notably some carmelized onions and a portabella mushroom.

That reminds me, I can't believe how much food I have left! It felt like I never had anything, but actually I have a lot of food that's probably going to be going to waste.

5 comments:

Oh, how exciting (and nerve-wracking)- your last night! I hope you have a wonderful time in Germany... actually, I know you will. No matter the name of your blog, please keep us updated! I'll live my fantasy German life vicariously through you.

Hi,I found your blog and started reading it (it's interesting and great!). I read, that your moving to Germany, to which city are you moving? I hope you continue your blog when your are here and I hope you'll have a good time.Greetings from Germany, Amy

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"What is Islam's presence in the United States?"

It is almost impossible to generalize about American Muslims: converts, immigrants, factory workers, doctors; all are making their own contribution to America's future. This complex community is unified by a common faith, under-pinned by a countrywide network of a thousand mosques.

Muslims were early arrivals in North America. By the eighteenth century there were many thousands of them, working as slaves on plantations. These early communities, cut off from their heritage and families, inevitably lost their Islamic identity as time went by. Today many Afro-American Muslims play an important role in the Islamic community.

The nineteenth century, however, saw the beginnings of an influx of Arab Muslims, most of whom settled in the major industrial centers where they worshiped in hired rooms. The early twentieth century witnessed the arrival of several hundred thousand Muslims from Eastern Europe: the first Albanian mosque was opened in Maine in 1915; others soon followed, and a group of Polish Muslims opened a mosque in Brooklyn in 1928.

In 1947 the Washington Islamic Center was founded during the term of President Truman, and several nationwide organizations were set up in the fifties. The same period saw the establishment of other communities whose lives were in many ways modeled after Islam. More recently, numerous members of these groups have entered the fold of Muslim orthodoxy. Today there are about five million Muslims in America.

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Freedom of conscience is laid down by the Quran itself: 'There is no compulsion in religion'. (2.256)

The life and property of all citizens in an Islamic state are considered sacred whether a person is Muslim or not.

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